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Again With the Rebecca Bra

Argh. As I suspected in my last bra post, I did in fact trace and sew the wrong size bra. I made a 70F when I should have started with a 70G. Boooo! In fairness, different websites put me in different European size bras.

I was suspicious because I didn’t have the coverage I wanted. When I went to compare pattern pieces, I saw I wrote ’70F’ on the pattern. Doh!

I also added an uneeded seam allowance to the bridge. This made the bridge way wide. So, my hot pink muslin really was just a muslin. In addition, I didn’t have enough coverage in this version because it was an F cup.

For my second go- round I sewed the bra in Summerset’s Twilight Blue. I’m putting peer pressure on her for a deep chocolate brown. It’s the only color I can wear under light colored tops.

The color is beautiful. I was hoping to use a lesser loved color of the 5+ kits I own, but there isn’t one. I really quite like them all!

If you can belive it, I made this bra from trace to finish on Friday night while watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss. I started around 7 or 8 p.m. and even stopped to mix up a mojito and have my Friday night phone date with Trena. We talk most nights, but we have a standing Friday Night Phone Date. I looked at the clock when I was done and it was just after midnight. So, yes. It’s possible to sew a bra in four hours.

My techniques were better on this version. And I’m quite proud of my finishing.

But, it’s still not sewn totally correct. I have a few mistakes and several tweaks I still need to make.

The back is riding up. And, I think it’s because the band is still too big on me. This is not a new problem!

When I in college I wore a 36 band. I went down to a 34 two years ago and was sized into a 32 recently. All this despite weighing 15 lbs more than I did when I was wearing a 36!

My cup runneth over in the hot pink F cup. But, it’s not quite snug enough in the G. I accidentally stretched out the lace during pressing and fitting. But, I have made a slight adjustment to the upper bust pattern (taking out 1/8 – 1/4 inch). Hopefully that will work.

I’m also reducing the width of the bridge by 1/4 inch. Not quite sure how to address the band. But, I’m going to post on the lingerie sew along blog with photos on my persons. Hopefully I can get some feedback. Oh, I also need to reposition the bands. I kind of have narrow shoulders and forget that this is why I don’t like spaghetti straps!

There’s a bra making class in Baltimore this October. If I can’t get the hang of this in my next two, I’ll sign up for it. But, I’m really pretty happy with this!

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32 thoughts on “Again With the Rebecca Bra”

Every time I see on of Sigrid’s incredible bras I want to succumb to the challenge sewing my own bras. It is not one of those things you can fit as you sew, so lots of work before you get one that fits perfectly. I hope that you are transferring these changes to your pattern so you can get to a tnt version. As for the band being loose, I regularly have taken in my dd’s bra bands. She is really a 30 D and even a 32 is hard to find, so I remove the hooks on both sides and take in an even amount and resew the hook and bar pieces. Is it wearable? because it is certainly pretty.

Your bras are beautiful! I might have to try the tip on taking in the band for my daughter too – she is a 32 C/D which are very difficult to find especially on a college student budget. Good luck on perfecting the fit.

Wow, people across the globe are getting me interested in sewing bras. I can buy bras that fit me quite nicely (thank you, Wacoal) but the chance to sew up these ravishing lace and color combinations is what is attracting me the most. I can certainly see why you would have a hard time deciding which kit to sew next.

Bra fitting — arrrrrgh! I made bras years ago when my bust was considerably smaller (talk about weight distribution and age!). Neither fit nor support were much of an issue then. Both are big deals now.

Your bras are so beautiful, though, that I’m slavering at the thought of maybe trying again. I seriously hate the only commercial ones I’ve found that I can stand to wear.

Blogger and I haven’t been getting along lately so I couldn’t leave this comment on the lingerie site although it’s based on seeing the bra on.

My solution was to sew a D cup except for the lower cup. It’s a C height and a D width. On me, that got rid of the flat space under the breast. I also narrowed my bridge considerably. The wire casings overlap at the top. This brought everything in and up which seems to be what you’re working on in part. Hope that helps.

What a beautiful bra. You just might push me over the edge into giving this a go myself. I suspect that I’m smaller than a 32, and with a petite frame, there’s always too much distance between the shoulder and the bust point on RTW bras. The combo of a small band size and a large cup, there’s one bra that fits me that I can buy, but I think I could do better with fit if I really tried.

There’s a lady who teaches a bra making class near me too, but it’s $200, and her pattern looks wimpy and sad. ;(

Your band may be too big. But also, your band may not have ‘the hook’ from Beverly Johnson (I think Rebecca doesn’t). That has made a -huge- difference for me, who tends to have ride-up. In fact, when I examined my favorite Wacoals, I found that they have the hook..